THE CCA in Glasgow is now hoping to be open to the public on Monday, 15 October.

The arts centre has been closed since the disastrous Glasgow School of Art fire in June.

A fire exit on Scott Street, down the hill from the west end of the gutted Mackintosh Building, is still within a safety cordon erected by Glasgow City Council.

However, with the dismantling of dangerous masonry from the GSA building due to be completed soon, the CCA can at last prepare to re-open.

Water ingress has damaged a ceiling in the exhibition space of the CCA.

The new date is "potentially subject to change and is dependent on both weather and the technical progress being made by the GSA contractors."

Several events due to be staged in the CCA are being moved to new venues, postponed or cancelled.

A spokeswoman said: "We all really appreciate the tremendous ongoing support from everyone, and will keep you all posted as we have more information."

www.cca-glasgow.com/programme/cca-closure

NINE schools in Scotland will receive author residences, fully funded, this school year to "inspire a lifelong love of reading and writing."

The Live Literature School Residencies Programme, is now in its third year and is funded by the Walter Scott Giving Group and organised by the Scottish Book Trust.

The nine schools include the Gigha Primary in Argyll and Bute, Loudoun Academy in East Ayrshire, Forrester High in Edinburgh, Annette Street Primary and Smithycroft Secondary in Glasgow, All Saints Primary in Inverclyde, Cumbrae Primary in North Ayrshire and Spittal Primary in South Lanarkshire.

Authors involved will be John Fardell, Neil Slorance, Victoria Williamson, Mark Fleming, Emily Dodd, Chris McQueer, Juliette Forrest, Gerry Cambridge and Linda Strachan.

The residencies will run across the 2018-19 school year and finish by Easter 2019.

Julie Wilson, head teacher of Gigha Primary School, said: "What a great gift to have John Fardell come and work with us to craft a series of tales from our Isle of Stories.

"We are so excited for this opportunity to learn from him and be inspired through his residency to create and illustrate our own picture books on the themes of nature, growth and learning for sustainability."

Marc Lambert, chief executive of Scottish Book Trust, said: "The Live Literature programme gives those in education settings the opportunity to collaborate with professional writers, storytellers and creators from all over Scotland.

"We’re pleased to offer 9 fully-funded residencies, which will help pupils to foster a love for reading and writing that can last a lifetime."

www.scottishbooktrust.com

A RARE painting depicting the defeat of the Spanish Armada is at risk of being deported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £210,000.

Michael Ellis, the UK Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism Michael Ellis has placed a temporary export bar on the ‘The Spanish Armada in the Year 1588’, by an unknown artist, to provide an opportunity to keep it in the country.

Depictions of the Armada, with the inclusion of its leading historical figures, are rare.

Experts believe the painting was produced in around 1600.

It shows Queen Elizabeth I watching the naval engagement, accompanied by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

In 1588 Philip II of Spain sent an 18,000 strong invasion force of 130 ships to England with the intention of overthrowing the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and restoring Catholic rule.

The defeat of the invading fleet has long been held as one of the great naval victories.

Mr Ellis said: "This beautiful miniature commemorates one of the most celebrated events of Elizabeth I’s reign and it is essential that we do our best to save this piece for the nation.”

Little is known of the painting’s whereabouts until it was sent on long-term loan to the Rijksmuseum, the Museum of the Netherlands, between 1975 and 1995.

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred until 13 December.

This may be extended until 13 March next year if a "serious intention to raise funds to purchase is made."

www.gov.uk